Men's Soccer: Day 9 In Scotland
8/25/2004 8:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Aug. 25, 2004
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND--
9-9:30 a.m. -- The Terps look fresh from a day off of playing and a full night's rest. They eat breakfast at the University of Glasgow dining hall, with the menu today consisting of eggs, both fried and scrambled, bacon, sausage, and the full compliment of continental items. It's another cool morning in Glasgow, with the temperatures in the 60s and the sky covered with a thick, fluffy blanket of gray clouds.
10-11:10 a.m.-- The team does several drills and lots of stretching during its morning training session. The Terps work on quick touches and passing, as well as headers and juggling. The session ends when the team scores 11 goals on runs from about 30 yards out on the keepers.
11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.-- After an hour-long bus ride to the city of Edinburgh, the capitol of Scotland. The bus drops the team off at the historic Edinburgh Castle, which to this day still functions in some military capacities. Over the next few weeks, Edinburgh (and the castle itself) is playing host to a major festival, so the grounds overflow with people. There are bleachers set up outside the castle set up for what is called The Military Tattoo, which is essentially something of a Fourth of July celebration with music and fireworks in the U.S.
The team takes a tour of the castle, which is led by an authentic Scot in a kilt and lasts 25 minutes. Included in the tour group was an enthusiastic lady who gave a knowing nod at most everything the guide said. Most of the guys were able to hold in their laughter; some walked away. Despite that distraction, the views from the castle on the hill stole the show. From the top of the castle one could see all around and into the city, and the gorgeous landscape in the distance. The tour concludes at the top of the castle at the crown jewels. Diamonds and pearls adorned the crown encased in glass, and a ruby-tipped staff sits in a case on the wall. (There were no photos allowed in the crown jewel area.) On the way back down to the bus, many dip into some of the dungeons and prison areas that are in several different areas of the castle.
2:40-3:20 p.m.-- The pre-game meal has been pre-ordered at a restaurant in downtown Edinburgh. Most select the chicken and pasta with peppers in olive oil, although some selected the chicken and vegetables or the fish and vegetables. The meal is good, but the portions are not what the group is used to. Most devour their lunch before the bread even makes it to the table.
3:20-4:30 p.m. -- The team has the opportunity to walk around downtown Edinburgh and go back the castle and the Royal Mile, if they choose.
4:30-6:40 p.m.-- The Terps take a 20-minute ride to the Heriot Watt Training Center where they prepare to play their fourth of five contests on the trip.
6:50--8:15 p.m.-- Game time.
Maryland 2, Hearts FC 3
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND-- The Hearts FC club converted a penalty kick with just under 10 minutes to play which was the difference as the Terps fell, 3-2, Wednesday afternoon.
"It was our best matchup so far and Hearts is a very experienced reserve team loaded with first team players and had Jimmy McAllister, an international player," said head coach Sasho Cirovski. "They took this game very seriously and I was pleased with that.
"I thought we started a little tentative at the beginning of both halves, in large part to the number of games we've been playing and being on our feet touring all afternoon, but I wouldn't trade that because seeing the Edinburgh castle was great. Having said that, our team played well. The Hearts team had all the makings of what we would see in a College Cup team or even a higher level than that. We came back on two occasions and two of the three goals we gave up were on set pieces, and that's easily correctible. We were able to see some things in this game that we can improve on, and that is the purpose of this trip."
In today's starting lineup, Cirovski went with Chris Lancos, Kenney Bertz, Eric Brunner and Michael Dello-Russo in the back, midfielders Ian Rodway, Domenic Mediate, Stephen King and A.J. Godbolt, up top were Jason Garey and Abe Thompson, and Noah Palmer was in goal for the Terps. Erwin Diaz, Jason Arnold and Maurice Edu all saw significant action in both the first and second halves.
Hearts controlled the first 20 minutes of the game, maintaining possession and not allowing the Terps any shots. Hearts finally broke through after a foul by Lancos just outside the top of the box. On the ensuing free kick, the Hearts player scored on a tremendous shot in the upper left corner, making it the first time the Terps have trailed on their tour.
After the score, the Terps were able to get into their rhythm, possessing the ball a little more. Although the Terps didn't have many quality looks at the goal, they were still applying pressure with shots. Mediate then finished Maryland's best opportunity after Garey chipped the ball over two oncoming Hearts player over to Mediate in the middle of the field. Mediate took the goalie one-on-one and scored in the left-hand side of the goal.
Hearts started quickly in the second half, with a player working down to the touch line before crossing to a teammate for the goal. The Terps countered just as quickly, though, with a rocket shot from Mediate. On the play, Mediate settled a turnover by the Hearts back line and fired a shot that banged against the near post and in the goal to knot the score 2-2.
The Terps and Hearts then played evenly for most of the second half, but Hearts surged with more pressure in the game's last quarter. The persistence paid off as a foul was called on Brunner in the box on a run. (One Scottish observer deemed the call "dodgy.") Another questionable call went against the Terps when an apparent Garey goal was nullified by an offsides call.
Palmer made five solid saves in goal for the Terps. Hearts held a 16-13 edge in total shots, and held the Terps to just four total shots on goal for the entire game.
Maryland will play its last game of the tour tomorrow.
Scoring: HFC-Goal; MD-Mediate (Garey);HFC-Goal; MD-Mediate (unassisted); HFC-Goal (penalty kick) Shots: MD-9+4=13; HFC-5+11=16 Saves: MD-1+4=5; HFC-1+1=2 Corners: MD-2+2=4; HFC-1+7=8 Fouls: MD-5+3=8; HFC-8+7=15
8:30-10 p.m.-- The team showers up and eats a plate of pasta and meat sauce at the complex at the field. In order to avoid a scenario like this afternoon in regard to the portions at lunch, the coaching staff has ordered pizzas for the hour-long trip back to Glasgow for the night.
On the bus, the team polishes off the pizzas with ease and watches the Manchester United highlight tape from last year. The players also talk about how impressive the team they just played was.
Check back in to umpterps.com tomorrow for the latest update on the men's soccer trip.
